Florida sees first snow in decades as storm hits the South

Children build a snowman on a public basketball court in Savannah, Ga. State Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for at least 28 counties because of the frigid weather.

Children build a snowman on a public basketball court in Savannah, Ga. State Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for at least 28 counties because of the frigid weather.

Photo: Stephen B. Morton, Associated Press

Florida sees first snow in decades as storm hits the South

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SAVANNAH, Ga. — A brutal winter storm dumped snow in Tallahassee, Fla., on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three decades before slogging up the Atlantic coast and smacking Southern cities such as Savannah and Charleston, S.C., with a rare blast of snow and ice.

Forecasters warned that the same system could soon strengthen into a “bomb cyclone” as it rolls up the East Coast, bringing hurricane-force winds, coastal flooding and up to a foot of snow.

At least 16 deaths were blamed on dangerously cold temperatures that for days have gripped wide swaths of the U.S. from Texas to New England.

A winter storm warning extended from the Gulf Coast of Florida’s “Big Bend” region all the way up the Atlantic coast. Forecasters said hurricane-force winds blowing offshore on Thursday could generate 24-foot seas.

Schools in the Southeast called off classes just months after being shut down because of hurricane threats, and police urged drivers to stay off the roads in a region little accustomed to the kind of winter woes common to the Northeast.

In Savannah, snow blanketed the city’s lush downtown squares and collected on branches of burly oaks for the first time in nearly eight years. William Shaw, a Savannah native, used baby steps to shuffle along a frozen road from his home to the post office.

“It almost seems the town is deserted just like in the last hurricane,” said Shaw, 65. “There’s no one on the street. It’s got a little eerie feeling.”

Dump trucks spread sand on major streets in Savannah ahead of the storm and police closed several bridges, overpasses and a major causeway because of ice.

By the time the morning’s dreary sleet and rain turned to fluffy snow, Savannah came out to play. The National Weather Service cited unofficial reports of up to 2 inches of snow. It was the city’s first measurable snowfall since February 2010, and families with children flocked to Forsyth Park near the downtown historic district for snowball fights.

Across the Georgia-South Carolina line in Charleston, unofficial reports showed up to 3 inches of snowfall there, according to the weather service.

Blizzard warnings were issued from Rhode Island to Maine. Weather Prediction Center lead forecaster Bob Oravec said he expects they could be extended as far south as parts of New York.